Sportswire Miami Staff | May 31, 2026
Three quick takeaways:
- Miami has now lost three starting pitchers to the injured list in a single month.
- Juan Soto’s sixth-inning grand slam turned a competitive game into a 10-1 rout.
- The Marlins ended the afternoon with third baseman Jeison Sanoja pitching the eighth inning.
One week ago, the Marlins were celebrating one of their best moments of the season.
Heriberto Hernández launched a walk-off grand slam. Miami swept the Mets. The rotation looked dominant. Fans were talking about momentum, not medical reports.
Fast forward seven days and the mood could not be more different.
On Sunday at Citi Field, the Mets crushed Miami 10-1 in a game that perfectly illustrated the challenge facing the Marlins right now. This wasn’t simply a bad afternoon. It was another reminder that Miami’s pitching depth is being pushed to its limits.
By the time the game ended, a position player was pitching, the bullpen had absorbed more damage, and the injury list had grown once again.
The timing could not be worse.
The Rotation Keeps Taking Hits
The biggest story isn’t Sunday’s final score. It’s what happened before first pitch.
Janson Junk officially landed on the 15-day injured list with right shin inflammation, becoming the third Marlins starter sidelined during May.
That comes on top of Eury Pérez and Andrew Nardi already joining the IL.
Pérez, one of the most electric young arms in baseball, is dealing with a right gracilis strain and is targeting a return sometime in late July. Losing him for nearly two months leaves a massive hole in the rotation.
Nardi is battling a left rib cage stress reaction, an injury that typically requires caution and patience. The Marlins need him healthy for the long haul, which means there’s little reason to rush the process.
Then came Junk’s setback.
RotoWire reported Saturday that he had been scratched from his scheduled start and was being evaluated. Less than 24 hours later, the move became official.
Three starters down in one month is difficult for any organization to absorb. For a club sitting at 26-33 and trying to remain competitive in the National League East, it creates a very narrow path forward.
One Inning Changed Everything
For much of Sunday, the game was still within reach.
Miami entered the bottom of the sixth trailing 5-1. Not ideal, but hardly impossible.
Then the wheels came off.
Josh White, recalled to help cover for the growing list of injured pitchers, walked Bo Bichette with two outs to load the bases.
Juan Soto stepped in and delivered the knockout punch.
His grand slam instantly transformed a manageable deficit into a 10-1 disaster.
Game over.
The Mets had already received contributions from Marcus Semien, who reached base four times while collecting a home run, two RBIs, and two walks. Soto simply delivered the moment that put the game completely out of reach.
Miami’s offense had very little response. Owen Caissie provided one of the few bright spots, finishing 2-for-2 with an RBI double, but the Marlins never generated sustained pressure.
By the eighth inning, manager Clayton McCullough had little choice but to preserve what remained of his bullpen.
That’s when Jeison Sanoja took the mound.
It’s never the image a team wants attached to a game, but it summed up the afternoon perfectly.
The Transaction Wire Tells the Story
If you want to understand what the Marlins are dealing with, look beyond the box scores.
The roster has become a revolving door of recalls, activations, and emergency pitching moves.
Josh White was recalled and immediately asked to cover critical innings.
Pete Fairbanks recently returned from the injured list to help stabilize the bullpen.
Leo Jiménez was activated to add flexibility elsewhere on the roster.
Meanwhile, pitchers continue moving on and off the active roster as Miami searches for enough healthy arms to survive the schedule.
Fish On First recently noted how relentless the transaction activity has become, and Sunday’s game offered another example of why.
Where Miami Goes From Here
The frustrating part for Marlins fans is that we’ve already seen what this team can look like when the rotation is intact.
They didn’t just beat the Mets last week. They swept them.
The talent hasn’t disappeared.
The problem is availability.
Pérez remains weeks away. Nardi’s timetable remains uncertain. Junk now joins the growing list of questions the club must answer.
The good news is that reinforcements should eventually arrive. The bad news is that the season keeps moving forward whether the rotation is healthy or not.
Sunday’s 10-1 loss won’t define the Marlins’ season by itself.
But it served as a clear reminder that right now, Miami isn’t losing because of a lack of talent.
They’re losing because they’re running out of pitchers.
